There are various ways of harvesting apples, based on the type of orchard, the scale of producer and where in the world the cider is being made. In the UK, modern bush orchards, providing fruit to the larger producers, are mechanically harvested in a four-stage process: A tree-shaker goes through the orchard. This pretty much does what it says on the tin: on the back of the tractor is an arm with a vice which clamps onto the base of the tree and gives it a good shake, bringing the fruit to the ground. From afar, the wild flailing of the tree looks a bit like a scene from Jurassic Park when the T. Rex nabs the hapless goat placed in its enclosure. Thankfully, the scariest thing to be found in an English orchard is an overbearing hedgehog. Tree-shaking looks a tad vicious, and as if it could do some damage to the tree.

True, on younger trees, some care needs to be taken, but once a tree has reached maturity, it can withstand a thoroughly good yank. If anything, the movement of the tree can be of benefit, helping to reduce compaction around the roots.

Next up, the fruit needs to be collected from the ground. Clever paddle, conveyor and auger technology can be mounted onto tractors to convey fruit from the orchard floor to a trailer behind the tractor. These ingenious harvesters have been designed to leave the orchard’s trash (leaves, twigs and so on) on the orchard floor rather than in with the fruit.

Most harvesters can’t reach all the way underneath the trees, so the third run is undertaken with the blower. This, once again, is precisely what you might imagine: a glorified hairdryer on the back of the tractor, the same size and scale as the one belonging to Princess Vespa in Spaceballs, Mel Brooks’ marvellous Star Wars pastiche. The blower pushes fruit out from underneath trees, whereupon…the harvester makes a second pass to collect it. Conversely, in traditional, older orchards in the UK and other parts of Europe, the norm is to allow the fruit to drop naturally and then collect it from the floor, or to pick it with the aid of a panking pole (yes, that is a real term it means long pole with a hook on the end). This, on the face of it, is counterintuitive to what we know from the dessert-apple industry. But whereas aesthetic perfection (we are told) is of paramount importance to eating apples, apples for cider will be chopped and pressed, rendering their physical appearance irrelevant. A bump here and a minor bruise there are not going to impinge upon the quality of the juice that will be liberated during the milling and pressing phases

Hand-picking can be wonderfully therapeutic. All you are concentrating on is locating the next apple and placing it in the bucket. For anyone locked into a highpowered, demanding job, this is thoroughly recommended as a bit of de-stressing therapy.

Read more information is this wonderful book dedicated to cider.
In Ciderology, Gabe Cook, aka ‘The Ciderologist,’ leading global cider expert, shares his passion for all things cider (and perry!), with an essential history of the drink and production processes, and a round-the-world tour of the most important and exciting cider makers in operation.